President Joe Biden’s former White House physician Kevin O’Connor declined to testify during a closed-door congressional interview Wednesday, invoking both doctor-patient privilege and his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
The refusal came as part of House Republicans’ ongoing investigation into who controlled government operations during Biden’s final term while the president experienced mental decline.
O’Connor appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday following a congressional subpoena but departed without providing testimony to lawmakers seeking answers about Biden’s cognitive state.
House Republicans have launched the probe to determine which individuals in Biden’s inner circle knew about his declining mental faculties and participated in concealing this information from Congress and the American people.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who spearheaded the investigation throughout Biden’s presidency, stated that O’Connor’s invocation of Fifth Amendment protections “adds more fuel to the fire that there was a cover up.”
Comer had issued the subpoena for O’Connor’s testimony and rejected arguments that the doctor’s professional relationship with the former president would prevent him from testifying under oath.
The White House attempted to facilitate O’Connor’s cooperation by waiving executive privilege for the physician Tuesday evening, according to official statements.
O’Connor previously indicated that his medical duties created complications for providing sworn testimony about his patient, stating these responsibilities prevented him from sharing certain sensitive information.
O’Connor “asserted doctor-patient privilege and his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination” during the proceedings, according to reporting from Politico.
O’Connor’s legal team released a statement explaining their client’s position following the failed testimony session.
“On the advice of his legal counsel, Dr. O’Connor refused to answer questions that invaded the well-established legal privilege that protects confidential matters between physicians and their patients,” the statement from O’Connor’s representatives read.
The statement continued: “His assertion of his right under the Fifth Amendment to decline to answer questions, also on the advice of his lawyers, was made necessary by the unique circumstances of this deposition.”
O’Connor’s attorneys emphasized that invoking Fifth Amendment protections does not indicate their client committed criminal wrongdoing.
The lawyers clarified that O’Connor’s use of constitutional protections to avoid testifying should not be interpreted as evidence of criminal activity on the physician’s part.
House Republicans continue pursuing their investigation into potential deception regarding Biden’s mental state during his time in office.
The congressional probe aims to identify which administration officials possessed knowledge of the president’s cognitive decline and participated in keeping this information from public view.
Lawmakers seek to establish a timeline of when Biden’s mental deterioration became apparent to those closest to him in the administration.
The investigation represents ongoing efforts by House Republicans to examine the circumstances surrounding Biden’s presidency and questions about his fitness for office.
Congressional Republicans have expressed frustration with what they characterize as stonewalling tactics from former Biden administration officials regarding the health investigation.
The refusal to testify comes amid broader Republican efforts to scrutinize the decision-making processes within the Biden White House during the president’s final months in office.
House investigators are working to determine whether constitutional protocols were followed regarding presidential incapacity and the transfer of executive powers during periods of cognitive decline.
The post Biden’s White House Doctor Pleads the Fifth, Refuses to Answer Questions About Presidential Health Cover-Up appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Jordyn M.
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://resistthemainstream.org and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
